Olympians get chance to play to the crowd

October 03, 2008|By Doug George, TRIBUNE REPORTER

Olympic gymnastics is a real sport, to be sure, but sport wasn't the sole reason it was the darling of the television cameras in Beijing. It isn't as if Oprah is inviting the White Sox on her show. Zambrano, for all his one-name celebrity-dom, isn't running into pictures of himself in his local Hy-Vee store.

No, fresh on the heels of this summer's Olympics, gymnastics has made the flying leap into pop culture -- as the producers of the "2008 World Tour of Gymnastics Superstars" have figured out. The show -- a mix of gymnastics and live music -- is coming to the Allstate Arena later this month. It treads the same sort of ground as the all-star ice shows, only with high bars and balance beams instead of triple lutzes.

And it couldn't ask for better celebrities than new medalists Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin.

Johnson, Liukin and the rest of the women's and men's gymnastic teams spoke with us recently after their Oprah appearance and helped us put together this show primer.

Q. So is this a dance show or an athletics event?

A. Both. There's no judging, but the gymnasts will go through their paces, with live music and dancers to back them up. The performance opens with the Olympic fanfare, images from the Beijing Olympics on video screens and dancing Chinese dragons, says tour manager Ken Neal -- who adds that the tour is changing as it goes along; it started in Reno, Nev., last month and is hitting 37 cities in all. Next, gymnasts take to balance beams on either side of the stage as the live band KSM plays "Hero in You." The show progresses from there, with most acts a mix of music and gymnastic routines -- high bars, floor exercises and the like.

Q. What's the biggest difference between competition and this show?

A. No judges, say the athletes. "The show is so relaxed and fun," Nastia Liukin says. During our interview, she's one of those gymnasts that can't hold still. She rocks from one foot to the other, does little stretches with her arms. "You're just doing it for the fans. After the Olympics, this is the reward."

Justin Spring: "Our mentality is: We're the kind of guys who want to go out and do the best show we can do. I'm still nervous. But if I mess up? It's not like I've been preparing 18 years of my life for this."

Q. At the Olympics, what was that moment like just before your event? The TV cameras always showed you guys so stony-faced. Do you ever think about mistakes?

A. The men all laugh and try to jostle each other forward to answer. Jonathan Horton speaks up: "Actually I love that feeling of being a nervous wreck and competing. That's something I've even talked to the other guys about. It's like, 'How do you not enjoy that?'"

Raj Bhavsar: "What motivates me is the fear of going out there and melting down all over the place."

Q. What can you eat now that was verboten during training?

A. Shawn Johnson: "Oh, ice cream! Edy's ice cream. There was a little time to splurge right after the Olympics." But she works to stay in shape even on the road. "I try to work out a little every day. Even if just in the workout room at the hotel."

Best for: Fans of gymnastics. Throw in the live music artists, and this show is aimed at 'tween girls -- the uber-gymnastic fans.

Cast: Usually nine men gymnasts, seven women gymnasts and five dancers.

Gymnastic highlights: Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin are the for-sure headliners. Both will perform parts of their Beijing medal-winning routines. The biggest crowd responses so far, says tour manager Ken Neal, have been for Johnson's floor exercise (done to Lenny Kravitz's "American Woman") and Liukin on balance beam (to "Ave Maria"). But the men have been the surprise hits of the show, Neal says. "The biggest 'wow' factor has been for the men's high bar number."

Music highlight: Jordan Pruitt (Hollywood Records) singing her new single "My Shoes."